Who's a thief?
by Lady Inari
Summary: MaxRideXDNAngel The flock’s parted ways, and Fang decides to go where no one’s ever heard of him: Azumano, Japan. But upon his arrival, Fang has an encounter with the Phantom Thief Dark Mousy. Rating for possible blood and language. Some light slash.
1. Fang meets the Dark

Who's a thief?

Summary: MaxRideXDNAngel The flock's parted ways, and Fang decides to go where no one's ever heard of him: Azumano, Japan. But upon his arrival, Fang has an encounter with the Phantom Thief Dark Mousy, ends up fainting and is taken to his house- the Niwa house…

* * *

**I suppose I might as well tell you why I, Fang, am here alone in Japan. Well, first of all, I discovered my own power: The power of languages-- meaning, that I can understand and speak any language with seconds of being around someone who speaks the language.**

**Okay, now onto the other important things I should tell you. Y'see, about six months ago, I turned seventeen. Five and a half months before now, we destroyed the School and all the rest like it. I had to make sure that Ari was dead, because he didn't stay dead when Max 'killed' him. Then, a week and a half after that, I told Max that I was going to go travel the world.**

**It obviously bugged her, but she shrugged, and said, _"Okay. It would happen eventually, I knew. You would be the first. "Just keep in touch, okay?"_**

"**_I'll try,"_ Which pretty much brings up to today. I flew over a small town near the coast of Japan. It was called Azumano, and rumor had it that a black-winged phantom thief lived here. I realized that I might have been a target because I had black hair and wings. (1)**

I started to circle lower and lower, trying to find a place to land. I was looking down at the ground and rather stupidly, accidentally, ran into another teenager, about my age, with huge black wing and purple hair. We stared at each other for a few seconds, eyes wide, black wings flapping, chests heaving. Then I came to my senses and back winged, still in shock. His purple eyes stared into my amberish ones, and I grew dizzy; my wings faltered and I plummeted to the ground, blackness gathering in the corners of my eyes.

I heard a hurried shout, and my drop slowed considerably, but I still hit the ground hard, crying out and finally totally blacked out, and one of my wings cracked. The last thing I saw was the purple haired man's features change to those of a smaller scarlet haired boy's, Then my eyes slid shut, and I saw no more.


	2. Overreacting

Who's a Thief?

Lady Inari- Eh-heh. I made a mistake concerning the foot note in the last chapter- I forgot it! So here it is:

"Black hair and wings" I'm only assuming, because James Patterson isn't terribly specific, only describing his wings as 'dark' and his hair is kinda brownish-black.

So, here we are again. This is mostly a sidefic as I try to clear the writer's block for BYW. I have a hazy idea as to a plot so this shouldn't be _totally_ random. Which seems to be the way BYW is going. Okay, I'm gonna stop ranting now so you can read the actual story and not this long-winded author's note.

Oh yah, Fang's kinda OOC in this chapter, but I'll keep him in character the rest of the time. Unless I want reviews and then I might make him OOC.

Fang- Hey! That's not fair!

Inari- (sticking out tongue) yes, it is! JP let me borrow you, so I can make you do whatever I want you to do.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I was actually on a soft bed, and not in a cave or on rocky dirt, which was normal for the flock and me.

The second thing I noticed was the white, furry rabbit-creature curled up on my chest. I touched it, and it looked up at me, garnet eyes blinking. It crooned softly "Kyuuu," then leapt off my chest and ran out of the slightly ajar door.

I groaned and sat up, noticing that I had no shirt on for the first time. I reached with one of my slightly sleep-numbed hands behind me to try to feel the damage I had done to the honeycombed wing bones, only to touch the soft flesh of my skin, not soft, downy, owlish feathers.

My hand withdrew sharply I whimpered. The worst thought immediately to came to mind: _whoever had found me amputated my wings, removing them._ A strangled sob escaped my lips, then a dam broke and tears flew from my eyes.

I screamed for my flock, "Max! Iggy! Nudge, Gazzy, Angel! _Please!_ Someone, anyone, HELP ME!" I screamed again and again, over and over; until my voice broke and went hoarse, leaving me shaking in a crouched up ball, whispering, "Someone, anyone, help me…" over and over.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I looked out the corner of my eye and caught sight of red hair. Its owner wasn't a flock member, so I pulled in my arms, covering my tear-stained face from view.

"What's wrong?" The red-haired boy asked me. I shuddered, and tensed up.

"What do you think is wrong with me?"

"I think you're overreacting. You think that you had your wings removed, when you really only had a few feathers plucked so we could see where you were bleeding from." The boy's hand moved to my shoulder blades and touched the thick, corded, wing muscles.

I sat back up and reached back again to try to touch my wing, the one that hadn't snapped. To my relief, (which in this case was a huge understatement) my shaking fingertips touched feathers. I sighed in relief (again) and wiped the last of my tears off my cheeks.

"So," I said, as if nothing happened, "who are you?"

The boy cocked his head to the side and said, "Daisuke Niwa; and you are…?"

I knew I should've given him a fake name, but something stopped me. "Fang." Daisuke held out his hand and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Fang. Do you want something to eat?"

I was about to say 'no,' but my stomach betrayed me- it growled, and I turned a little pink. "I guess so." Daisuke helped me get out of the bed. I wasn't used to sleeping on a real bed, so I sank into the mattress. He led me out of the bedroom and down the hallway and down stairs to the kitchen, where a woman stood, the rabbit-thing I had seen earlier perched on her shoulder.

She looked around and exclaimed, "Oh, Daisuke!" The woman looked at me and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The rabbit-creature made a soft noise and leapt into Daisuke's arms. Daisuke laughed lightly and said, "Fang, this is Wiz, and my mom, Emiko. Mom, Fang; Fang, Mom."

"Hello Fang. Why don't you two sit down, dinner's almost ready, and Kosuke and Grandpa will be down soon." Daisuke and I sat at the fairly large richly stained table. Wiz clambered over to me, pushing his white head under one of my tanned hands, begging me to pet him. I obliged, and scratched the creature behind his ears, quickly turning him into a purring, quivering, puddle of white fur.

Daisuke leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Wiz must really like you. I haven't seen him like that in a _long_ time." I didn't smile, as that would be out of character for me, so instead, I smirked.

"So, what are you doing in Japan, Fang?"

"I suppose I wanted to see the world. Even though it meant leaving the flo- my family behind."

"But they weren't human, at least not totally, were they? If you have wings, then your family would have them too, I'm guessing." I stared rather dumbly at Emiko. She sure was smart. Then she threw me for another loop, "You're American, aren't you?"

"How…?" By now, I had stopped petting Wiz. He crooned softly at me, red eyes questioning.

Daisuke smiled, "You have a slight accent. Besides, rumors have been flying ((no pun intended)) about winged kids in and around New York City for a few years now, among other things about you."

Great, this couldn't be good. Rumors from four years ago were still around, even in Japan?

I opened my mouth to respond, but was saved from having to from a man who walked into the kitchen, holding several black feathers- my feathers. "Daisuke, did Dark get hurt last night?"

But he stopped dead when he saw me. I was still shirtless and my body was angled just so that my back and my wings were visible. I snapped my head around, tensing up slightly.

Daisuke came to my rescue saying, "Dad, this is Fang. Dark and I brought him home last night, remember? Fang," he gestured to is father, "this is my dad, Kosuke."

I nodded politely, but did nothing else, my amber raptor eyes locked onto my black feathers that were held in his hand. Kosuke followed my gaze to where I was staring.

Kosuke set down my wing feathers, then turned to talk to Emiko, who was plating the food she had finished making. My sharp ears caught her words, "… don't care, Kosuke. He's got to stay until his wing heals, at least. We owe him that much at least, seeing as it was Dark who made him fall."

Kosuke was quiet for a second, then finally gave in to his wife. I glanced at Daisuke out of the corner of my eye- he looked slightly guilty and buried in his thoughts.

Then Daiki walked in, grayish hair ruffled slightly; and Emiko set the food she had made on the table. I scooped my feathers out of the way, and inspected one of them- the previously black feather shaft was turning white.

It was something that happened to all of the flock's shed/lost feathers- the shafts turned the exact opposite color as the actual feather part. It wasn't terrible for Angel or I, because our feathers were white and black, respectively. But with Max, who had tannish feathers, it meant that the shafts turned kinda purple. Which wasn't good, in any case.

Jerking out of my thoughts, I realized I was just sitting there rather dumbly; though I never let the emotions running through my mind appear on my face.

The food that was on the table was all Japanese. Luckily, the flock and I had eaten out enough Chinese that I knew how to use chopsticks. I snapped them apart and used the wooden utensils to put a modest amount of food onto my plate. Modest for a member of the flock, though, was more than a normal person would eat. Nobody noticed how much I took, but I noticed how much Daisuke took- almost nothing at all.

I nudged Daisuke in his ribs rather sharply with one of my elbows, and when he looked over at me, I raised a questioning eyebrow at his food. Daisuke understood my silent question and murmured, "I'm on a diet."

Emiko heard Daisuke's quiet answer and reached over and poked her son in his chest rather hard with her chopsticks and gave him a rather stern look and, "Daisuke, can I talk to Dark?"

Daisuke nodded, and closed his eyes. There was a bright light that blinded me for a second and when I opened my eyes, there was a purple-haired man sitting there, dressed all in black, like me on a normal day. He smirked over at my stunned face, and said, "Hey, Fang." His amethyst pupils flicked back over to Emiko, and said, "You called, Emiko?"

I suddenly realized who this was- the Phantom Thief Dark! He was Daisuke!


	3. Yaolt Roberto Ehecatl? Who's he?

Who's a Thief?

Chapter 3:

Lady Inari: I'm sorry about the cliffhangers in the first two chapters, I just ran into a wall at the end of the last chapter… I think that I want to change the title of this story… any ideas, anybody?

0oh yah: Chapter dedication goes to Irene Sharda, for making me think (for once –winks-)

And since there wasn't a disclaimer in the first two chapters, I would like to say that Fang has something to say.

Fang- awww, c'mon… why me?

Inari –holds up wooden spoon-

Fang –winces- okay, okay… Lady Inari does not own me or the flock or any of the DN Angel characters. They belong the James Patterson and Yukiru Sugisaki, respectively.

Inari- good job, feathers! –Dodges death glare from Fang and whacks him unconscious with spoon- well, see ya'll! –Drags away KO'd Fang-

-----

Needless to say, I was surprised. If I were anybody else that I knew, I would have probably have leapt up and jumped back from Dark. Instead, 'surprised-beyond-belief' for me was no more than an eyebrow raised and several blinks. Not that that meant that I wasn't surprised on the inside.

Dark flipped back the lock of purple hair that had fallen in front of his eyes, as he listened to Emiko's rant about 'mistreating Daisuke.'

From the way that Daiki and Kosuke just glanced up, then continued eating, something told me that this was nothing unusual in the Niwa House.

Between Dark (who had been 'convinced') and I, there was none of Emiko's food left. I just about fell asleep right at the table from my belly full of warm food, until I heard words that I didn't want to hear from the woman that had filled my rather empty stomach, "Fang, we're not entirely sure what happened to your wing when you fell on it. Since we obviously take you to a hospital, Dark will have to check it. Whaddya say, Fang? Us, or the hospital?"

We both knew my reply- them- but I shrugged anyways and gasped out in pain and shock as the muscles connecting my right wing to my back seared in pain.

Dark held me steady as I hissed, and led me to their couch in the huge, beige living room and made me sit with my back to the coffee table as the kaitou sat on its edge.

He gently touched the throbbing muscles and I bit down on the soft flesh around my thumb to keep from uncharacteristically screaming out.

"It's dislocated. I'm surprised it hasn't hurt you before or when you were sleeping." Here Emiko murmured something about anesthesia. Dark kept talking to me, and when I had relaxed, he popped back the joint into place. I groaned, and bit down hard again on my hand, stifling the noise.

After a minute or so, the pain died form my mind, and the metallic taste of blood sprang to my mouth. I released my hand and watched as my life force welled up and leaked out of four small, round punctures.

Dark looked over my shoulder at what was holding my gaze so intently, then called to Emiko to get bandages.

Emiko dashed out of the room, and came back in running; I turned to allow her to bandage my rather accidental self-inflicted wound with gauze and a tightly and expertly wound linen wrap. I admired her handiwork with a little concealed mix of jealously and awe- we could have used her help after some of our more bloody fights with Erasers.

I made a fist, testing the wrap. It gave enough for me to make a tight fist, but when I opened my hand, the white linen stayed just as snug as before.

"Thanks, Emiko, Dark. But I really should go, I don't want to overstay my welcome." I rose to my feet, holding my hands out in a placating gesture to attempt to stop them from talking.

Dark's eyes suddenly screwed shut, as if expecting that I would hit him or something, but in a mini light show and a spray for black feathers, Dark's form was replaced with Daisuke's smaller one.

"But, Fang! Stay awhile, we have space for you to stay." He glanced up at his mom, who nodded. "And besides, if you stay, maybe I can convince Dark to take you thieving with him." Daisuke grinned and winked.

I looked away, thoughts racing.

"Fang…" Daisuke caught my eye and I winced- I could have sworn that the red-head was related to Nudge or Angel in some way- he had made the same face that had convinced Max to take the Flock to Disneyland all those years ago.

I adverted my eyes, and crossed my arms over my chest. I muttered darkly, "Fine, I'll stay… But where's my bag?"

Daisuke, who had thrown his arms happily around me –not that I was hugging back, or anything- looked up at me in mild confusion, before laughing lightly.

The redhead grabbed my arm, trying to pull me along behind him, giving me just enough time to quirk and eyebrow at Emiko, Kosuke, and Daiki, who were smirking at the young Tamer's antics, before I was pulled along up the stairs into the room I had previously woken up in.

Daisuke released my arm and went around the king-sized bed to retrieve my black laptop/messenger bag. I looked around—the room was a soft blue and a fairly decent size, with a walk-in closet.

"You can do what you want with it, the room's yours now." I nodded, the room could use a new coat of paint—light blue was never really my color, maybe a smoky blue would look nice. ((Lady Inari: Do I sense a hint of inner designer, Fang? Fang: shut up… Dai: Hey, why am I so OOC? Inari: -sniggers- no reason, really. Well, nothing that you need to know now.))

Daisuke bounded back around the bed, clutching my bag to his chest. I took it from him and slung it across my shoulders. I pushed Daisuke out of the room in front of me, then turned off the light and walked down the stairs.

Once back in the living room, I gulped; then said, "If I'm going to stay in your house, you should know what happened to me and the Flock." I sighed, "You might as well get comfortable, it's a long story."

The four, or five, if you counted Dark, settled into the various chairs. Daisuke sat on the couch beside me. I took out a black shirt, which had slits in the back for my wings, which I put ton, and my lime green iBook G4.

The laptop booted up without a hitch, but a message popped up, asking if I would like to run a system check. I clicked away the box, and instead, opened an encrypted file labeled 'The Angel Experiment.' The encryption would be no good against Nudge, who could hack into any computer- and that included mine, and mine was more secure than most of the world's security systems.

I opened a video file- it was from when we went back to the school to blow it up and free the mutants inside.

I spoke over the recording, which contained mine, Nudge's and Iggy's voices. Max was with Angel and the Gasman.

I spent the next hour and a half telling them of my life- everything that had happened to me in my life as far as I could remember back up until last night. "'And the rest,' as they say, 'is history.' Or, in my case, not history, since anybody that ever knew we existed is either dead, or inhuman themselves."

There was a few minutes uncomfortable silence, in which I wondered if telling this family everything was such a good idea, until: "Dark says that 'if you can trust us with your history, then he can trust you with his.'"

Daisuke glanced briefly over at his mother, then briefly at me. I nodded mutely, my voice too hoarse to speak properly.

I subtly opened a program in my iBook, clicking a key on my keyboard-record. (1)

Daisuke inhaled and exhaled heavily, and when he opened his eyes, they were a deep amethyst, with black slits. Daisuke's voice reigned for a few sentences, before changing to Dark's.

"More than 500 years ago, the Niwa were a notoriously famous clan of thieves. The best of them stole artworks from the artistic Hikari. The two clans vied for power, struggling for almost a century, until the Hikari had discovered the ability to imbue their art with magic. But soon they became careless and power-hungry; and, trying to play God, they created a living artwork."

Here, Dark/Daisuke took a deep breath; then barreled on, telling his entire history.

Eventually, Dark reached the end of his story, "I suppose there is more to say, but it is unimportant to history. Daiki only had one child, Emiko, but since I cannot appear in a female body, it was forty years before I appeared once more, in Daisuke.

"Fang, you'll be the first partner I have ever had, apart from Wiz who acts as my wings on occasion, but I can also manifest my own pair of wings on my body.

"That's all there really is to say now. I suppose that if you have more questions, then you can ask later, I don't mind."

Daisuke/Dark's eyes suddenly snapped back to red, and Daisuke out a hand to his forehead, groaning slightly. He muttered, "Please don't do that again, Dark. It wasn't too pleasant."

Dark obviously said something apologetic in Daisuke's head, because he replied, "Apology accepted… Yeah, I'll ask him." Then, in a louder voice, "Fang, if you stay, you've got to go to school, and have a different thief's name, too. Since 'Fang' isn't any kind of name."

I silently simmered with anger towards the purple haired thief, before realizing he was perfectly right. I dove into my mental database of all the languages ever created in all time. There was one phrase that popped into his mind, "Yaolt Roberto Ehecatl. It means 'Wind Warrior.'"

I heard the words, but it was a few moments before I realized that it had been me who had spoken. Daisuke mouthed the name silently with a small frown. "Fang… What language is that from?"

I frowned, "I don't know. That's never happened to me before. I've always known at least the name of the language before."

"I know what language it is- what its name is, but Dark says for me not to say it aloud that the magic in the syllables could cause… catastrophe."

"Can you write it down?"

"…Yes. There's no power in even a tamer's writing. Sometimes artwork and always speech, but none in writing." Daisuke found a scrap of paper and I gave him a pen. The redhead hesitated for a split moment, before carefully printing a series of symbols, then sliding it across to me.

Although the exact meaning of the symbols was fuzzy to me, I knew that I had seen that sequence of symbols before.

I took the largest and most beat-up of my sketchbooks-- for I must have had a half-dozen—from my bag. It was missing a cover, but on the first page was written in a bold Sharpie 'DREAMS'"

I flipped through a few pages, then found the right one- a sketch that had bothered me for weeks until I had drawn if. It was a sculpture of two winged men. And now that I was looking at it, I realized that one was Dark!

At the bottom of the page, I had drawn the same set of symbols that Daisuke had written.

I held it out and showed it to Daisuke, "Does this look familiar to Dark?"

Daisuke nodded after a pause. I started flipping through more pages, full of drawings and sketches. The last sketch in my book was a rough sketch of an intricate cross and a crowned key. I had written notes and the date of the dream, which was just the night before last.

Emiko whistled softly, but amazed. She never realized how well someone could draw something from a ream. Especially because many of the Hikari art were magicked so it wouldn't appear in dreams, except of those of both the Niwa and Hikari. She shook her head, "No, that couldn't be right. That would mean Fang was Niwa. Which was impossible, right?' she thought, but resolved to find out more about him.

----- Yes, I know it's late, but I was kinda in a slump about typing. Not about writing, but typing up what I've written. Lady Inari 


	4. Back to School, yet again?

Who's a Thief?

Chapter 4: Back to School, yet again.

Yes, I am a BAD, BAD, person, for not updating for more than three months. Please forgive me?? I've kept losing and then finding and losing my notebook again and again, so most of this is written from memory, so it's actually quite terrible when compared to the original, in my opinion.

It's short, and doesn't hold up to my general standards, but you guys deserved a Christmas present, I think?

In two short weeks, I learned what Daisuke had in nearly fourteen years. Emiko and Daiki said that my natural agility and lightness made me an excellent thief, but Think it had something to do with the fact that I was already battle-trained, with wary, smart senses.

I knew most of the basics of Dark's kind of thieving, but without much of the magic, though I could perform some simple spells.

Amazingly, this whole line of reverences occurred at about 6:30 in the morning, in a state of half-consciousness. I was currently stretched out across my bed covers, wings laid out to either side of me, extended to their fullest, popping joints and bones, stretching muscles.

Just then I heard footsteps pound down the hallway, past my door, and down the stairs. I smiled to myself- it was Daisuke. He was probably running late for school (again) which meant that I was too, since I was going to start going to an actual school again.

Whoopie.

I rolled off the bed and out the door. Ruffling my wings in the coldness of the house, I ran down the stairs to breakfast, catching Wiz as he jumped up into my arms.

Some twenty minutes late, I was bolting up the stairs two at a time, my new school uniform clutched in my hands.

Another half an hour later, I was in a trolley car with Daisuke, feeling uncomfortable in the white shirt and surrounded by strangers.

Finally we got out, just as I was starting to have to fight my literal flight or fight response to my growing nerves.

Daisuke and I walked in silence to the school, and after ten minutes of being lost, I stood outside the door to my classroom. When I raised my fist and knocked, a man came out quickly, and said, "Ah, you must be Ehecatl-san."

I nodded, "Yes, but please," I looked down at my schedule that I had gotten from the secretaries, "Sakino-san, call me Yaol or Fang."

Sakino nodded, then gestured me in through the door, "Come in. Our class is taking a test, so you'll have to wait, but it will only be a few minutes."

I nodded, stepping in quietly. Sakino was a tall, slender man, with a finely chiseled face and his long hair tied up in a ponytail on the top of his head, a few scraggly bangs that had escaped the ponytail lying along his face, making it look even thinner than it probably was.

I waited at Sakino's desk, twisting the papers I was carrying tightly in my hands. As the minutes passed, more and more students finished their tests, I became more and more uncomfortable with the stares.

Sakino said, when the last boy had handed in his paper, "This is Yaolt Roberto Ehecatl-san. He's a transfer from America. Is that right?" The teacher turned to me, and I nodded. "Would you like to introduce yourself, Ehecatl-san?"

I turned and glared, "No, I would not."

Sakino looked surprised, then nodded, "Alright. Uhm… there's a seat behind Kisa in the back. Kisa, please raise your hand."

A girl in the very back raised her hand, several of the bangles on her wrist jangling. The class murmured among themselves for a moment, before they stopped and I went to the back of the class, slouching down in the desk. I realized just how much this 'Kisa' girl looked like Max, but the girl was just about tall enough, with short, black hair. She was also quite busty, which I couldn't have not noticed.

She turned and smiled, "Kisa Ayamasaya."

I nodded, "Yaol. Or Fang, if you prefer." I noticed a flicker of something in her eyes, perhaps recognition, but that was not it. After all, how many Japanese teenagers would recognize me, especially after more than fours years after having dropped off the radar from the world.

Then I shrugged to myself. I was just overreacting again.


	5. The Heart of a Thief

First of all, Sorry for lack of updates.

Second of all, thank you to **cosmicfalcon **for finally getting my butt in gear over this.

Thirdly, I do know quite a few of the differences between the Japanese and American school systems, and as such, I will stick to that information as much as possible. Like the fact that Daisuke's in 9th grade, though he's only still in Middle school in Japan, since there's only three years of High School. Fang, as 'seventeen' is probably a senior, so he's in class 3-C.

Finally… I don't own Max Ride, or DN Angel. I own 'Kisa Amayasaya' and 'Sakino'.

Enjoy, please, and drop a review or two. Not getting them makes me feel like my story's not wanted, and it disheartens me to not write.

Lady Inari

ABCDEFEDCBA

I fought my way through the crowds heading for the school exits, feeling claustrophobic and nervous. Daisuke told me where to meet him, though I wasn't entirely sure I remembered. I walked slowly towards where I thought he had told me anyways, and almost smiled when I saw him already there, talking to a boy with messy, thick, black hair.

The other boy, the red-haired one, grinned as he caught sight of me, and waved me over. "This is him, Takeshi." The black haired boy turned, and smiled, too. Daisuke continued, "Yaol, Takeshi; Takeshi, Yaol." I nodded politely, but didn't speak.

Takeshi grinned and leapt forward, starting to chatter immediately. I jumped, and almost shied away from his touch. Daisuke noticed this quickly, thankfully, and pulled his friend away, saying firmly, "Yaol's not a people person Takeshi. And hates _cameras_." I noticed the careful stress, and mental note not to give myself away.

I spoke to Daisuke slowly, lowly, "We should be getting back, then? Emiko will worry, won't she?"

Daisuke nodded, "Yeah, we don't wanna be late. I'll see you later, then."

Takeshi turned, and asked, "You're not going to come with me tonight to the museum? Dark sent a calling card! And then there was that message on the back! C'mon, Daisuke, you have to come."

Daisuke backed away, "I already told you, Takeshi, I can't."

Takeshi sighed, and gave up, uncharacteristic for him, "Alright, then." Daisuke smiled, and turned to start walking away. I followed obediently, hair and the feathers in my hair falling into my face.

After an uneventful walk, a trolley car ride, and more walking, Dai and I were back home. Immediately prepared for the traps, I spread my wings and took off, dodging through the traps in the air, while Daisuke worked his way through below. I was still almost skewered by a hundred knives, before my wings snapped close to my back, and I fell like a rock, avoiding the traps set below for when I indeed fell out of the air.

When I finally landed, Daisuke had stood waiting for me for at least a minute, though the door behind him was open, and I knew he had picked the lock while watching me fly.

Emiko immediately rushed forward, sweeping both Daisuke and I into a celebratory hug. I squirmed away as she said, "You did it, Fang! You had some close calls, but you're definitely ready for tonight!"

Daisuke, too, broke away, face bright red, though he said "Mom! Leave him alone!" The woman let me go, but she turned and led the way into the house importantly.

I tugged on the feather in my hair, but forced my hand away. They had to stay put for the rest of the night.

I heard my red-haired 'brother' complain loudly about the outfit his mother had made for Dark from the next room over, but I had to admit, I rather liked mine.

I slipped into the clothes, slid my wings through the slits in the back, and faced the mirror. The pants were rater simple—loose, baggy, with a lot of pockets and black chains. The 'suspenders' were down, and they hung near my knees. One was dark red, the other, navy blue.

The shirt and accompanying over-jacket wasn't so simple, however. The front of the shirt was artfully torn to reveal my muscular tanned chest, and the long sleeves were ragged. The jacket over the top didn't go past my biceps, and the hem ended at my calves, so it felt more like a cape than anything. There were large white crosses placed seemingly randomly on the back, as well as gold and red paint. The outfit was built to impress, and I felt odd in it, like I had in the Azumano High School uniform, with its bright white shirt.

I fiddled with my hair for a few minutes more, wind a few more feathers into the long tresses, before turning as the door opened, and Daisuke looked through, appearing ridiculous in his too-large clothes. I saw Wiz perched on his shoulder, and simply blinked. It was7 o'clock, and the calling card had warned for 8-- just enough time for Emiko to fuss, before we could go.

Daisuke led the way back downstairs, where his mother gasped when she caught sight of me, and rushed over, tugging on my clothes rather anxiously, talking all the time. I shooed her away finally, and Dark said, "Emiko, he'll be fine. Right, Chiron?" It took me a second to remember my third, and hopefully last, name, Chiron Loish." 1

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dark grinned; then spread his wings that were actually Wiz's. I flapped my own, then rushed out the door, taking off and flying as I high as I could. A few moments later, Dark joined me, purple eyes glittering with excitement.

The full moon hung overhead, and I, too, felt a rush of excitement. My nerves had long ago been hardened, so the fact that I was now a thief, wasn't exactly my butterflies flutter in my stomach.

As we flew, Dark filled me in on the artwork's powers and description, and I simply nodded. We landed on a rooftop a few buildings away from the museum. Huge spotlights lit up the sky, and, as 8:00 approached, there were shouts and chatter audible. Dark glanced over at me, but I simply nodded, so the kaitou took off, myself not ten feet behind. Almost immediately, spotlights locked onto us, and there were more shouts. Almost as if they couldn't believe that there were now two thieves.

Most of the crowd below was female, I noticed with so much surprise as amusement. Dark was definitely popular, and I could see how distracted the police were with all the screaming girls. I fluttered and landed on a ledge of the museum, Dark right beside me.

His voice boomed out as if he held a microphone, "Hello, Inspector! How mice of you to throw this little party for my new partner, Chiron Loish!" My wings automatically spread, locking all eyes onto me. Dark continued, "Chiron is the other signer of the calling card you received for the 'Thief's Heart'. I believe he wrote 'And now there are two' on the back!?"

It wasn't really a question, but Dark and I disappeared inside quickly, wings folded to our backs. The halls and rooms of the museum were brightly lit, and guards were everywhere. They'd apparently heard the commotion outside, and they were waiting for Dank and I inside nervously. I glanced over at my partner, who winked, and I leapt in a flash. As well as a crash-course in the thieving arts, martial arts had beaten back into me. Literally.

Thirty seconds later, (Dark would tell me later that he had timed me) the guards were laid out flat all around me, in varying states of pain, though none were permanently wounded. No, I had held in my supra-normal strength that much, at least. I looked up at Dark, and let out a rare grin, making Dark laugh back.

He jerked his head back slightly, though, and I nodded, falling in behind Dark as he led the way through the museum, and I got the not-so-odd feeling that perhaps the kaitou had the layout of the building memorized.

We stopped outside the open doors of a large room, though something prickled at the back of my neck. Dark obviously felt it too, because I watched a dark glow flare around his hands. That surprised me—Magic, at a time like this?

I pushed past Dark, and stepped into the room. Nothing happened. Seriously. Dark didn't move, however, and I kept walking toward the center of the room, towards the display case in which the bracelet Hikari art, the Thief's Heart was.

There was a 'woosh' from somewhere above my head, and I dove to the side with question as a form clad in gold and white crashed to the floor. Dark shouted, "KRAD!!" Though as the black-winged thief rushed forward, a bright seal appeared he crashed into it, and fell back with another scream, this one of pain and agony and anger.

I spun on the White Wings, my own spread wide. Krad was on his feet, and cuaght my wild punch easily, twisting his arm to slam me into the concrete of the floor. My eyes flickered from Dark to the Thief's Heart, then to Krad. I blinked, and found Krad with a ball of bright magic at my throat, while there was a similar sphere held against the blonde's head.

A perfect Mexican standoff.

With horrible timing, because just then, yet another winged figure burst into the room—**"MAX!?"**

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Yeah, I'm evil. Deal with it.

1. Chiron Loish- means Black Heart Down in a lost language. Dark'll call him simple 'Black' or 'Black Heart' as the story progresses. Or maybe to annoy him… 'Blackie'.

Lady Inari


	6. The Flock and the Flight

Who's a Thief?

Chapter 6: The Flock and the Flight

Lady Inari: -glares at everybody who didn't review- Don't have anything to say.

**Warning:** Contains some light slash. Giggy Gazzy/Iggy I'll place line breaks around it if you don't want to read, but it'll make more sense if you do. 'Specially the reaction.

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Last time: The Heart of a Thief

_There was a 'whoosh' from somewhere above my head, and I dove to the side with question as a form clad in gold and white crashed to the floor. Dark shouted, "KRAD!!" Though as the black-winged thief rushed forward, a bright seal appeared he crashed into it, and fell back with another scream, this one of pain and agony and anger._

_I spun on the White Wings, my own spread wide. Krad was on his feet, and caught my wild punch easily, twisting his arm to slam me into the concrete of the floor. My eyes flickered from Dark to the Thief's Heart, then to Krad. I blinked, and found Krad with a ball of bright magic at my throat, while there was a similar sphere held against the blonde's head._

_A perfect Mexican standoff._

_With horrible timing, because just then, yet another winged figure burst into the room—**"MAX!?"**_

Right now: The Flock and the Flight

Sure enough, the original Maximum Ride hung in the air, artificial light streaming in through the shattered window, blind Iggy not far behind, hanging onto Gazzy's belt loop. Both had kept growing over the years, and were much taller than my 5'11".

Both Dark and Krad whirled around, distracted. And though I, too, was surprised, I leapt on the White Wings, slamming his face and head into the concrete, and ignored the blood that was starting to spread slowly across the floor.

I slowly pulled away, and nudged the motionless Krad with my toe. The angel didn't move, though he did groan. Well, at least the bastard wasn't dead. I might have actually felt a little guilty otherwise.

When I saw Dark still holding the sphere of magic, I said sternly, "It's alright, Dark. They're my flock." The kaitou slowly straightened, and the magic faded. He turned to me and simply nodded at the glass case that still contained the Thief's Heart.

Still ignoring Max for the moment, I walked to the case carefully, eyes scanning for any hidden alarms. Finding none, I reached for the top pane of glass, surprised when even as I lifted away the glass, that there wasn't a single alarm sounding. Not that I was complaining, or anything.

I drew out the Thief's Hear, and slipped it over my wrist. It glowed faintly, then seemed to contract, and tightened to fit snugly to the skin. I turned to my thieving partner, holding up my hand and asked, "Was it supposed to do that?"

Dark shrugged slowly, but his eyes were wide. They said, 'I'll tell you later, though I'm surprised all the same.' Before I could say anything about it, however, I found Max's arms around me in a hug. I automatically took a step back to brace myself and caught Max to hold her steady. I noticed stares, and looked up over Max's shoulder to find both Gazzy and Dark staring at me. Iggy didn't bother looking around.

I pushed Max away, blushing slightly. Only just noticing who was missing, I asked, "Where's Nudge and Angel?"

Max's face darkened, and she said, "They stayed in New York." But I could tell that it was more than that. It would have to wait, however, like Dark.

"We have to leave. Dark, you and I will distract the police. Max, Ig, Gazzy, you guys go out the back," I ordered quickly, and watched as they obeyed.

I went to the broken window and looked out to see a remarkably empty area, though a camera crew and the police were rushing to the scene quickly. Dark smirked, and I repeated the action. I leapt out the window fires, wings snapping open and carrying me up like a parachute just in time for Dark to fly out, too. He shouted, "Too bad! You lost again! Inspector, you must have been senile to think that that pitiful security could have stopped us!?"

He cackled like a madman, and I did too, then gestured grandly to the open sky and full moon. We gained altitude and spun as one, speeding away into the night.

Max, Iggy, and Gazzy joined us, and Dark led the way as I fell into the familiar formation with them. Our wings swept the same rhythm, and I felt strangely at ease. I hadn't realized until now how tense I had become over the past few months without being part of the flock. Even without Nudge and Angel.

The flight was uneventful and long, as we kept backtracking and turning in seemingly random directions to throw off any potential pursuers.

When I finally got to tuck my wings to my back, a clock tower started tolling out the hour dully. I shuddered- Midnight, already. Max called something, and I jumped, spinning around to see Dark already inside the Niwa house. I shooed Max and Gazzy in front of me, closing the door and turning to blind Iggy, who was looking at me, face a picture of confusion. We were still standing outside on the almost porch area.

I touched the back of his hand gently, and Iggy's eyes locked onto mine. Just then, I noticed a thin red line drawn across his neck, and I gasped, fingers unable to stop from reaching. Iggy jerked away, and said "It's nothing."

"You know that's bullshit. What happened?"

"Uh… What?"

I repeated the question after a moment, not really understanding how Iggy could have not heard.

"Fang, you're doing the language thing again."

I blushed. Of course. Iggy didn't know Japanese, and the language-speaking habit always stuck after several weeks. "Sorry." Then I slapped my forehead, and concentrated, and said, "Sorry." It came out in English, thankfully, but with just a tint of Japanese accent mixed with the still lingering one of New York.

"It's alright. What did you say before?"

I shook my head, and said, "It's nothing." I didn't notice Iggy's eyes and head move to watch me, and I grabbed my brother's wrist, towing him into the house with me.

Max stood with Gazzy near the door, looking confuse as Dark, Emiko, and Kosuke stood together, whispering furiously between themselves.

I left Iggy with Max, threw a look that said, 'Stay here, I'll talk to them' and I touched Dark's shoulder and I was immediately brought into the circle.

"Fang, why are they here?"

I shrugged, falling back into Japanese, "I don't know. Max never told me, but if they're here, then it can't be good. She told me that the flock wouldn't bother me unless it was an absolute emergency."

Dark's eyes flicked onto Max, and, knowing his reputation for being a player, I growled, "My _sister_ is not for you, Dark!" Then, in one swift motion, I was laid out flat on my back, Dark sitting on my chest, purple hair framing his enraged face.

He snarled at me in the Angel's Language, "Then I'll kill you so that you cannot protest. The blind one will not fight, and the younger poses no threat!"

I brought my fist into Dark's stomach, crying, "You will **NOT!!**" Shoving myself to my feet, I also pushed Max back at the same time, growling, "Back off, Max. You don't have any place in this fight!"

Crouching low as Dark did the same, I opened my wings, like a hawk defending its mate and chicks from another hawk that was larger and much more dangerous than it was itself.

Which was certainly true. Dark might only be my size, but he weighed more, and had the advantage of both more experience and magic.

With a roar of rage, I rushed forward and grabbed Dark, fist colliding with his cheek. We both fell to the ground, a flurry of fists, feather, and wings, roaring at each other in our rage.

I finally managed to pin Dark beneath me, beating at him with wings and fists until I was finally pulled away by someone. I tried to slip away from my captor, but found more arms grabbing at me, making it impossible to move.

I stopped struggling eventually, not seeing any point in it. Breathing heavily, I slowly relaxed my tensed and angry muscles, and, slower still, every body that had a hold on me relazed too. My eyes flicked back up, and I was Emiko crouched over Dark, who was slowly reverting back to Daisuke. The bruises also became apparent, and I murmured, "Sorry, Daisuke."

Daiuske sat up with his mother's help, and said, "It's alright, Fang. I would've punched him too, if I could. You couldn't read his thoughts."

I shrugged, and turned to Max, who was still standing close to me, just in case she had to grab me again, and I asked, "Why are you here?"

Max said after a moment, "It's Angel. Her powers practically exploded these past few months. She's wanted to be the leader of the flock for… years, now. She finally went over the edge.

"She took over Iggy's mind," My eyes flicked over to Iggy, who felt my gaze, and looked down. Gazzy touched his hand, fingers ghosting through Iggy's pale blond locks. When Max continued, her voice was just a bit shakier, and a lot quieter, "She made him put a blade to his throat, then threatened me that if I didn't give her control of the flock and get you back to New York, she'd kill Iggy, then kill me, too."

I opened my mouth, shocked, but Iggy himself interrupted before I could speak, "I somehow broke her control, and force back my own arm. She tried to grasp my mind again, and ended up scratching my throat," here, Iggy's hand went to his throat, tracing the faded red line, "And I collapsed, blacking out from the shock, I think."

Gazzy took over, then, hand hesitantly touching Iggy's then pulling away quickly when he noticed my slightly narrowed eyes were focused on them. He said, "I tackled and threw her to the ground, knocking her out on the floor. We were going to leave before she could wake, but Nudge wanted to stay."

Max, voice suddenly strong again, "So we left. Nudge wanted to stay. Why, I couldn't imagine, but I didn't care. Sure, it was hard, but the flock's safety is-was- the most important, and if it meant leaving behind two of our members, then we've got to do it." She was holding back tears, I could tell, because I could wee them in her eyes, and I stepped forward slightly, opening my arms slightly, somehow knowing what she wanted.

She flew (not literally) into my inviting hug, and I then held her up around her waist as she started to sob into my stupid thief's shirt.

It surprised me. It really did. Max almost never cried, and here she was, sobbing in front of everybody.

I looked up at the others, cradling Max in my arms as she finally calmed, cheek pressed against my ribs above my heart. Daisuke shrugged and simply smiled, pulling away from his mother to climb the stairs slowly.

Emiko smiled, too, then said, "I'll find places for your family to sleep tonight."

"Thanks, Emiko. I really owe you for… all this."

Emiko shook her head, "It's alright, Fang."

Realizing that Max had fallen asleep, and I laid her down on a couch, though she clung to me, and moaned. Blushing faintly, adverting my eyes quickly, "Emiko will be back soon. I'm sure there's a place for you to sleep."

Starting for the stairs that Daisuke had gone up, and I turned and asked, "Wanna come up to my room?"

After a moment's hesitation, Gazzy, leading Iggy by the wrist, followed me, up the stairs and down the hallway.

My room was panted pitch black, and the sheets on my bed were white satin- real satin, not the fake stuff- so there was definitely contrast. Splashes of color in the form of band posters were slapped up on the walls. Most were Japanese, others American, and others still from other countries and languages.

Stripping off the jacket/cape thing, I tossed it onto the bed, seeming to stain the purity of the white sheets with its darkness. Shaking my head to dislodge the odd thoughts, I found a semi-clean shirt on the floor and slipped it on, not bothering to change out of the pants. Those were actually pretty cool, and I might wear them in the future.

Kicking my dirty clothes against the walls, I motioned Gazzy and Iggy in further. I could navigate the mess in the dark with my eyes closed, but I knew that Iggy couldn't possibly, with his blind eyes.

Another odd, brief moment of hesitation, and my brothers sat on the bed, almost too close for me to be completely about it. I asked quietly, "What's going on between you two? Don't tell me it's nothing, because it's sure as hell something."

I watched as the pair stiffen, then shift, and Gazzy's hand found Iggy's, squeezing tightly. I couldn't help the recoil—oh, hell no!

Iggy bit his lip, then said, "Fang…" His eyes were focused on me, and his pale blue eyes were full of mixed emotions. Which was odd, considering his disability. My thoughts snapped back on track, when Iggy continued, "Maybe it would be easier just to show you…"

**Bleh. All you homophobes, skip this part**

He turned to Gazzy, who blinked, before his head rose and touched Iggy's lips with his own. To my disgust and horror, my blind brother started to kiss back.

**Alright. You're fine now.**

Several things happened with the next second or two—I bolted to my feet, my arm flung out, and something crashed to the floor. But I was already halfway our the door and into the bathroom before I'd realized I even reacted.

I found myself heaving up the contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl, sickened at the mental image. I tensed when I felt somebody enter, and hold back my hair- feathers and all- back from my face as I continued to throw up.

Daisuke finally asked, "Fang, you alright?"

I nodded weakly, brushing away the helping hands as I tried to stand, wobbly beyond my own belief. I was down the hallway and almost to my door, before I recoiled, slapping my palms over my ears. I did **not** need to hear those noises from beyond my door. Leaning against the wall, I groaned, bringing my wings up to cover my head, too.

I moved as fast as I could for the nearest window or door leading outside and flung it open, taking flight in a flash. I had to get away, even if it was only for an hour or two.

Intending to gain altitude fast, I pumped my wings as fast and hard as possible, and soon I was more than a mile up, and the lights of Azumano were just pinpricks.

There were faint wing beats from behind me, and . not looking back, moved off in a different direction, closing my eyes. It wasn't like there were any use in this darkness.

The wing beats grew stronger, and I finally turned, mouth open, ready to face one of my flock or at least Daisuke or Dark.

Instead, I faced a boy, probably about Daisuke's age, but with straight, almost blue hair, large, wire-rimmed glasses, and long blue wings, probably as large as my own.

I asked the boy cautiously, "Who are you?"

The boy faced me, wings rotating in the air so that he was a good ten feet away, and as my wings swept forwards, his swept back. He said, "I'm Satoshi. Satoshi Hikari."

Like before, I didn't even realize I reacted until I was another ten feet away.

Satoshi flapped forward, pursuing me. He said, "You met Krad earlier tonight,. After you left, I took back control of my body. When the police finally found me, I was fine. They have no idea about the truth of the Niwa or Hikari clans, nor the truth about Dark or Krad. As the last Hikari, I intend to keep it that way.

"So, I'm telling you now, **Yaolt Ehecatl**," here I stiffened visibly, "If anybody learns the truth from you, then you'll be dead."

He turned to leave, then turned back and murmured something under his breath.

I immediately recognized it as a spell, and I drew a gasped, flinching as the Thief's Heart burned into my skin. I almost immediately felt light-headed as blood dripped off my hand and fell to the earth.

My wings started to feel heavy, as well as my eyes, then they both fell shut, sending me falling to the ground. I yelled loudly, as loudly as I could in my agony.

I crashed down in a park, its trees strong. I wished they weren't, because when I hit them, the branches broke under my velocity, and landed on top of me when I hit the ground hard on my back.

I let out a strangled noise, just before I fell unconscious.

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Lady Inari: Yeah, another cliffhanger, but besides the fact that I want reviews, angry or not, there's no way to break chapter 6 and 7 any other way. Too long to put them together, and I'm planning on starting to update more regularly. And don't think Satoshi's evil, because he helps Fang in the next chapter.

Next time: My bleeding torture

_When I woke again, my eyes saw only black. My nose, however, knew the scent of disenfectant, and chemicals. Memories flooded into my mind, and I seriously thought the I was back at the School._

…

_I shut my mouth and glared at him as he said, _"I'd like to ask you some questions, but I know that you won't cooperate."

_I snorted, the said, _"Damn straight!"

"Which is why… we're going to have to torture it out of you…"

End…


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